Sumida River, Minato Park and Yarakucho

06

Tsukiji Fish Market

Sometimes you are very lucky without knowing. The first time this happened to us was when we visited the New York World Trade Center twin-towers in 2000. A year later they were gone. 17 years later this happened again, when we visited the Tsukiji Fish Market in May 2017. Little did we know that it would be closed and relocated to Toyosu Market in October 2018. Looking back, I feel very happy that I had the chance to see the traditional fish market, which opened in 1935.

06

Hibiya Park Food Festival

The previous days’ tour de force took it’s toll. We slept a lot longer than planned and woke up late and very hungry. The Metro took us to Yarakucho station, where we hired some bicycles and started our journey. As luck would have it, there was a food festival in Hibiya Park. How convenient!

05

Shibuya Crossing

We arrived at the world famous Shibuya crossing, locked our bikes and (thanks to a top secret info) immediately went upstairs to see it from above. I’m not going to disclose it here, but if you’re interested you can of course ask me how to get up there. Looking down at the not-so-busy crossing, I realized that I had just made a childhood dream come true. Ever since seeing a picture of this intersection for the first time, I wanted to go there and see it with my own eyes. Tired eyes at this time of the night, but very happy ones. 🙂

05

Tokyo Tower

Aimed with a snack and a plain but very tasty rice ball, we made our way to the Tokyo Tower but didn’t go up to the viewing platform. Instead we opted to go and see the famous Shibuya crossing at night. On our way to Shibuya we found several food trucks, but postponed it to another day and cycled on.

05

World Trade Center, Tokyo Tower and the Skyline at night

The Ginza Parade left us hungry and we went to find something to eat. Japan is a perfect country to be hungry, because most corner shops also offer a variety of delicious hot food at very affordable prices. We sat on a bench and thought the yellow mini-skyscraper across the street looked like half a dozen European garages stacked on top of each other and wondered where the staircase might be hidden. Real estate sure is in short supply here and therefore the Japanese even stack parked bicycles in a clever and efficient way to save space.

05

Ginza Parade

Driving from the Tokyo Station towards the shopping district Ginza, we saw a huge crowd and wondered what was going on. The timing couldn’t have been better, as the opening ceremony of the 2017 Ginza Parade was just about to begin.

05

Imperial Palace East Gardens

Upon arriving at the Imperial Palace East Gardens, we tried to park our bicycles but one of the guards told us that it is unfortunately illegal to park bicycles at the garden perimeters. Well then, we improvised and stored them in an underground parking across the street. Back at the Hirakawa Gate we smiled at the guard and he let us in after we paid the entrance fee. We thanked him and went to explore the Imperial Gardens.

05

The Hie Shrine in Chiyoda

After a healthy breakfast in a typical Japanese corner restaurant, we hired bicycles at a hotel nearby and set off to explore the megacity Tokyo. The friendly and very courteous staff gave us a map with the hire stations and marked the point where we started, so we could find our way back later on. As on most of our travels, we didn’t bring a tourist book to follow. Instead, we love to explore and decide at every intersection by gut feeling whether to go left, right or straight.

03

Sleeping in the desert is special. It is so quiet at night that you can hear airplanes that are flying at altitudes up to 18.000 ft. The alarm clock woke us up about an hour before sunrise in our bedouin tent and we put on all the sweaters and jackets we had.

02

The drive from Ras al Jinz on New Years Day was relaxing and rather uneventful. Many people argue that driving through the desert is dull and boring – and that they would rather fly. To me, it’s the other way around. Every time I fly over a desert, I keep thinking I’d rather be down there driving…

01

Once again, we had an early breakfast at the hotel and headed out to explore the natural harbor of Sur with it’s famous Dhow wharfs and the beautiful lighthouse. Unfortunately, the Sur Dhow Museum was closed for renovations and we had to peek over the walls of a wharf nearby. It was quite interesting to see the ships being build with ancient tools and materials.

30

After getting up early we left Al Wadi Al Kabir and drove over the mountain to see the famous Al Bustan Palace. The roundabout is amazing, with a pool in the middle sporting a full-size Dhow. The water fountains are arranged cleverly in a way to resemble the bow wave of the ship. The driveway to the Al Bustan Palace Hotel is lined with trees and makes you forget that you are in a barren landscape. We didn’t manage to get into the (supposedly awesome) seaside garden of the hotel, but made up for that at the Shangri-La Resort, a couple of kilometers away.

29

On our first day in the Sultanate of Oman, we had a look at some of the various sights in and around Muscat. Driving from our Hotel in Al Wadi Al Kabir to the old part of the city via Sidab Street yielded some stunning views of the rough mountains and the glistening sea.

Leaving our car in one of the free parking areas, we walked towards the palace of Sultan Quaboos bin Said al Said – on polished stone sidewalks, mind you. They create nice reflections, but must be a nightmare when wet. In a country with an average of 100 mm of rain per year… who cares about slippery conditions? Dust is a concern, however, and therefore the sidewalks are kept clean all the time.

28

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”